- Biggest cost driver
- The boat, and how many of you are on it
- Most common surprise
- Certification fees quoted separately
- Prices on this site
- None published without a check date
- Cheapest real sailing
- Club membership and crewing
Every directory on the internet will give you a price range for a sailing course. Almost none of them will tell you when they checked it, and a course price that was accurate two years ago is worse than no price at all — it sets an expectation the school cannot meet.
So this site holds a price only where it has been checked against the school, and shows the date it was checked. Where a school listing shows a dash, no verified figure is held. That is not a claim the course is cheap, expensive or free.
What you are actually paying for
Four things move a course price far more than the scheme on the certificate:
- the boat — a 40-foot cruising yacht costs many times what a training dinghy costs to run
- the student-to-instructor ratio — private tuition is priced per day, not per head
- the duration and whether you sleep aboard
- shore costs — marina berths, mooring fees and fuel, which vary enormously by city
The costs quoted separately
The advertised course fee is often not the whole number. Ask specifically about:
- certification and registration fees paid to the awarding body
- the course pack, logbook or shorebased materials
- food and accommodation on liveaboard courses
- wet-weather gear hire
- examination fees, which for Yachtmaster are separate from any preparation
- membership, where the school requires club membership
How to compare two quotes properly
Ask both schools the same four questions: how many students per instructor, what boat, what is included in the fee, and what is billed separately. A course that looks twenty per cent dearer with three students aboard is usually better value than the cheaper one with six.
The cheapest way to sail a lot
It is not a course. Join a club, get on a crew list and race. Australian club racing costs a membership and your time, it runs every week through summer, and it will teach you more boat handling per dollar than anything else available.
Courses are for structure, certification and the things racing will not teach you — navigation, anchoring, night passages and command. Use them for that, and get your hours somewhere cheaper.
People also ask
Why does this site not list course prices?
Because it does not hold verified ones yet. A price is published here only with the date it was checked against the school; publishing an unchecked figure would be guessing in public about somebody else’s business.
Is a more expensive course better?
Not reliably. Price mostly reflects the boat and the ratio. A small group on a modest boat with a good instructor beats a large group on an impressive one.
Are there subsidies for sailing training?
Some clubs subsidise youth training, and some commercial maritime qualifications attract funding through registered training organisations. Recreational courses generally do not. Ask the club or RTO directly.
Still working out where to start?
Three questions — your experience, the boat you want to sail, and your goal — give you a starting course and the schools that teach it near you.